I've got some poly tanks mounted on a flatbed truck and wanted to put some sort of way to fill the tanks from bottom instead of us having to climb up and fill from the top. Does anyone know where and what kind of bulkhead i would need or is this a bad idea all together. Thanks

greendoctor

10-16-2010, 02:15 AM

A common polypropylene bulkhead would work. Then you need a check valve to prevent reverse flow from that outlet and a filling system with a pump strong enough to overcome the head pressure. Also think about spill prevention.

jbturf

10-16-2010, 09:53 AM

you need to climb up to add your product to the tank anyways, dont you

i think most lids or caps have oneway air vavles also, lets air in not out
not sure on that part

but you may need 2 fittings, one to fill and one for an air release valve

ive bought some bulk head fittings from rittenhouse that have worked well
g/l

ted putnam

10-16-2010, 11:04 AM

you need to climb up to add your product to the tank anyways, dont you

i think most lids or caps have oneway air vavles also, lets air in not out
not sure on that part

but you may need 2 fittings, one to fill and one for an air release valve

ive bought some bulk head fittings from rittenhouse that have worked well
g/l

There are eductors. They work well for liquid transfer through the use of venturi. We used one years ago for Chemlawn when we drove the 1100 gal tankers. We had a 3 inch water line that could be dropped in from overhead with several large ball valves to control flow /bypass of a second overhead and the eductor. Constant problems occured with water hammer when people would forget to S-L-O-W-L-Y close the ball valves. Except for the addition of prilled Urea and potash, we could fill a tanker in less than 10 minutes.

I (me) would not attempt a fill system through the bottom of the tank because of all of the potential problems. Most of them stated by greendoctor in his previous post. Others might though.

R&S Lawn Care

10-16-2010, 11:06 PM

build a manifold with valve(s) down low and run pipe up to the top, 45 degree that into your fill hole, that way you keep your air gap, but doesn't get in the way of your fill cap. Helps clean it up some by keeping the fill hose down low.

ted putnam

10-16-2010, 11:46 PM

build a manifold with valve(s) down low and run pipe up to the top, 45 degree that into your fill hole, that way you keep your air gap, but doesn't get in the way of your fill cap. Helps clean it up some by keeping the fill hose down low.

Exactly. I didn't explain that in my example. We had a manifold of ball valves we had built with the eductor assembly at ground level. The piping ran overhead and dropped down to the fill hole. When built properly and of course operated by a competent individual, the system worked great.

ALATURF

10-17-2010, 10:35 AM

Posted via Mobile Device

Ric

10-17-2010, 10:53 AM

Alaturf

Check with your State's Ag enforcement officer to see if a BACK FLOW PREVENTOR is acceptable. Plastic Back Flow Preventer can be purchased at any Ace Hardware. Install it with a Thur Hull Fitting to the tank and a Female Hose Bid near working height. Florida law requires a 2 inch Air Gap and doesn't allow any other method in the statue. Our Chief enforcement Officers is a common sense type who allows any reasonable and safe method to get the job done. However I would go to him first for permission.

ALATURF

10-17-2010, 11:43 AM

Thanks all for the suggestions. i will double check with the ag dept. to see if the backflow preventor would work. Ric what exactly is a thur hull fitting? and would i be able to find that locally.

Ric

10-17-2010, 01:06 PM

Thanks all for the suggestions. i will double check with the ag dept. to see if the backflow preventor would work. Ric what exactly is a thur hull fitting? and would i be able to find that locally.

ALAturf

When you drill a hole in the top of your tank to fill it, the Plumbing part you use is a THRU HULL FITTING. If you are using a standard 3/4 Garden hose then the Back Flow Preventer should be a bigger than than the feed, one inch should work fine. You don't want restrict flow and a 3/4 Back Flow Preventer will have a small amount of restrictions compared to a 3/4 Hose. The one inch preventer shouldn't. Any time you use any fitting you have more resistance than a straight run pipe of the same size. Last thing you want is more down time because of slow fill time. PVC is cheap even in larger sizes.